EXAMINATION OF JAPANESE AIRCRAFT EQUIPMENT(Text and images by Richard Lane)

FOREWORD

Japanese aircraft equipment (reportedly from a Zero Fighter) was listed
in a May 2007 eBay auction. The image below shows the eight items
displayed in the auction [1].

The items included were:

Framed Japanese WWII Flag

Set of Japanese Goggles

Cleaver

Knife & Case

Silver Japanese Bracelet with inscription (dated 1946 from the Philippines,
USN)

Altimeter to a Japanese Plane (described as ripped from Japanese
Zero Fighter)

Flight control stick broken off Japanese Plane (described as ripped
from Japanese Zero Fighter)

Engine Primer Fuel Pump (not described in the text of the eBay auction)

INITIAL ANALYSIS

The flag, goggles, cleaver, knife & case, and silver bracelet was
not analyzed in detail but was consistent with the fact that they may
have been taken as souvenirs in the Philippines.

Altimeter to a Japanese Plane – From the auction image,
it was clear that this instrument was not an altimeter but actually a
fuel quantity gauge. The gauge’s dial depicted a fuel quantity
of 102 liters and was marked - “Tank 1”. The gauge
was missing the glass, bezel, and needle and showed signs of possible
damage from impact, fire, and water. An instrument panel label
placard for “Tank 2” was present directly below the 102 liter
fuel quantity gauge.

Flight control stick broken off Japanese Zero – This piece
appeared to be corroded. From the shape of the control grip, it
appeared to be consistent for possible use in a Japanese Zero.

Engine Primer Fuel Pump – This item also appeared to be
consistent for a use in a WWII Japanese Naval aircraft.

To determine the provenance of these items, I initially focused on the
control grip. The control grip’s appearance suggested that
it might have been taken from a Japanese Zero. However, for the
fuel quantity gauges, the references for the Zero are well documented
for various models [2]. None of the references suggest that a 102
liter fuel quantity gauge was ever used for a Zero. Additionally
(as mentioned by Jim Long via e-mail) the instrument panel’s placard
nameplate was not consistent with a Nakajima or Mitsubishi Zero. The
Zero was an unlikely candidate for a 102 liter fuel quantity gauge, so
I explored the possibility that these may have been taken from an A6M2-N
Rufe. However, the fuel specifications for Rufe, also ruled this
out since the fuselage tank held 145 liters (vs. 102 liters) [3]. Additionally,
a Rufe wreck in the Philippines was an unlikely scenario.

In “Japanese Aircraft Equipment” (Mikesh, 2004), page 299,
there is a Jake cockpit image that shows the lower right hand fuel panel
(also depicted in Funatsu’s Aviation Instrument Museum online)
[4] [5]. In the service manual translation for Jake, the fuel
capacities for all the tanks are described in detail [6]. Jake
had one gauge for each of its six fuel tanks. The starboard panel
(right) had four fuel gauges for Tanks 3 & 4 (340 liters each) and
Tanks 5 & 6 (300 liters each). The port (left) pilot instrument
panel for Jake held fuel gauges for Tanks 1 & 2 (100 liters each). The
translation has the following paragraph on the port panel:

”The port instrument panel, which is equipped with the fuel gauges
for fuel tank Nos. 1 and 2, is attached to the floor panel on the lower
port side. It is made of duralumin plates 1.5mm thick, with a dull
black enamel surface. The main storage battery switch is on the
forward section of the port instrument panel.”

Based on this document, I believe the fuel gauge and panel piece was
part of a Jake’s port cockpit instrument panel. I have depicted
this panel in the diagram below.

Jake’s control column is “wheel shaped” so this ruled
out the possibility that the control grip in this eBay auction was from
a Jake. Therefore, the control grip must have been taken from another
type of aircraft.

DETAILED ANALYSIS

After I received the items, I carefully cleaned them and looked for
additional clues to help the analysis.

102 Liter Fuel Quantity Gauge/Instrument Panel Piece

The instrument panel thickness measured 1.5mm which was consistent with
the port panel details in the OP-16-FE Jake service manual translation. The
panel and gauge appeared to be damaged by impact, heat, and water. The
instrument panel’s placard appears to be consistent for an Aichi
aircraft [7].

The gauge has a data plate on the reverse that translates to “Fuel
Quantity Gauge”, and was manufactured by Tanaka Keiki Seisakusho. The
panel did not have any of the original black paint remaining. The only
visible markings on the back of the panel were faintly stamped numbers “30
77”.

Control grip – Once cleaned, the control grip had a completely
different appearance. There was no rust or corrosion present since
it is made of aluminum (duralumin)). The top section of the control
grip’s length is 12 cm and the top diameter approximately 40mm. This
section of the control grip (except the top rounded area) has a textured
finish that appears as if it was originally cast into the grip. The
only marking I could find was a naval anchor stamped into the grip’s
top. The top of this grip section was connected to the control
column with a curved 20mm elbow. This elbow was connected to the
control column piece with four riveted grommet shafts (this type of construction
is consistent with the Zero’s control column).

Upon examining the control grip in person, it was apparent that it was
a different design to the version used in the Zero. The 20mm additional
curved elbow section and the textured grip area made it unique.

After looking into the possibilities, I concluded the control grip was
removed from a F1M2 Pete. There are no known photographs of the
Pete’s cockpit but there are several detailed drawings in Maru
Mechanic [8]. The drawings show the unique elbow attachment for
the flight control grip in Pete.

I believe the grip for Pete was intentionally cast with a textured duralumin
pattern. With Pete’s open cockpit design, this undoubtedly would
have improved the pilot’s grip in the tropical Pacific climates.

Engine Primer Fuel Pump

The instrument measures 25cm in length and has a mounting diameter of
50mm. It has a naval anchor stamp on one of the brass fittings
and a cast number “K 27” in an aluminum section. This
fuel primer pump would have been mounted in cockpit with three screws. For
Jake, the fuel primer pump was mounted to the cockpit with eight screws
(this was also the case for the fuel primer pump in Zero) [6] [7]. Therefore,
I think it is possible that this instrument was also removed from a Pete
(it is not known if Pete used a three screw design for the fuel primer
pump mount). There is a translation of a service manual for Pete (OP-16-FE,
Translation No. 128, 9 Jan 45) but unfortunately OP-16-FE did not translate
the “Controls” section of this captured document (perhaps
the original document is still somewhere in the US National Archives)
[9].

CONCLUSIONS

I believe the aircraft relics described in this article were taken as
souvenirs from a Jake and Pete. I think it is possible that a US
Navy serviceman took these items from a wrecked Jake and Pete in the
Philippines. The Pacific Wrecks Website shows a photo of a wrecked “Pete” at
Cavite (see link below) [10].

Thanks to Jim Lansdale and Jim Long for their assistance in this analysis. I
would also like to thank the unknown US Navy serviceman who took these
parts as souvenirs. With these surviving parts (and other surviving
relics) we now have more important details for Jake and Pete.